1840s
Events and trends Technology * First use of general anesthesia in an operation, by Crawford Long *The first electrical telegraph sent by Samuel Morse on May 24, 1844 from Baltimore to Washington. War, peace and politics *First signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) on February 6, 1840 at Waitangi New Zealand. The treaty between the British Crown and Māori made New Zealand a British colony and is considered the founding point of modern New Zealand. *The Webster-Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, settled the dispute over the location of the Maine-New Brunswick border between the United States and Canada. * On August 29, 1842, the first of two Opium Wars ended between China and Britain with the Treaty of Nanking. One of the consequences was the cession of parts of modern day Hong Kong to the British. Hong Kong would eventually be returned to China in 1997. *Mexican-American War (1846 - 1848) was fought between Mexico and the United States of America. The latter emerged victorious and gained undisputed control over Texas while annexing portions of Arizona, California and New Mexico. * Wave of revolutions in Europe. Collectively known as the Revolution of 1848. This led to mass emigration of these refugees into industrial cities of the United States as well as to other locations around the world. * Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels writes The Communist Manifesto, first published on February 21, 1848. Culture and religion *1844 - Persian Prophet the Báb announces his revelation, founding Bábísm. He announced to the world of the coming of "He whom God shall make manifest." He is considered the forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. * Gideon T. Stewart becomes a Good Templars leader. * In the midst of the Second Great Awakening, preacher William Miller predicts the Second Advent of Jesus Christ will occur on October 22, 1844. Christ's failure to appear became known as the Great Disappointment. * Adolph Sax invents the saxophone, receiving the patent on May 17, 1846. * John Stuart Mill writes The Principles of Political Economy, first published in 1848 * Søren Kierkegaard publishes Either/Or, Fear and Trembling, Philosophical Fragments and The Sickness Unto Death Economics In the mid 1840s several harvests failed across Europe, which caused famines. Especially the Great Irish Famine (1845-1849) was severe and caused a quarter of Ireland's population to die or emigrate to the United States and Canada. Other *Introduction of the postage stamp. The first of them is Penny Black, issued by the United Kingdom on May 1, 1840. World leaders * Emperor Ferdinand I (Austria) * Chancellor Klemens Wenzel von Metternich (Austria) * Emperor Franz Josef (Austria-Hungary) * King Louis-Philippe (July Monarchy France) * King Frederick William IV of Prussia (Prussia) * Pope Gregory XVI * Pope Pius IX * Emperor Nicholas I (Russia) * Bahadur Shah Zafar (Mughal Empire) * Queen Isabella II (Spain) * King Charles XIV John (Sweden) * King Oscar I (Sweden) * Queen Victoria (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) * Prime Minister Lord Melbourne (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) * Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) * Prime Minister Lord John Russell (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) * President Martin Van Buren (United States) * President William Henry Harrison (United States) * President John Tyler (United States) * President James Knox Polk (United States) *President Zachary Taylor (United States) * President Sam Houston (Republic of Texas) * President Anson Jones (Republic of Texas) * Sultan Abd-ul-Mejid I (Ottoman Empire) * Shahs of Persia (Qajar dynasty) # Mohammad Shah Qajar, (b. 1810 - d. 1848) Shah from 1834-1848 # Nasser-al-Din Shah, 1848-1896 See also *1840s in fashion Sources * Robert Sobel Conquest And Conscience: The 1840s (1971)